Rising from Small Cloud Rain Technique

Inside the dantian, the Stone Turtle’s mouth moved, continuously exhaling five breaths of light spirit qi.

The Primordial Life Fire surged again, with the yellow, white, and black flames all expanding slightly.

Ji An grinned slightly, today is a good day!

The Primordial Life Fire has grown significantly, and he can try nurturing four top-grade spiritual artifacts at the same time to see if they can withstand it.

Now, he has comprehended three types of Five Elements Mutual Birth Divine Intent: Fire Generating Earth, Earth-Born Gold, and Gold Generating Water. In less than ten years, his journey to the Northern Land has successfully concluded.

Once he leaves the Nine Netherworld, completes the agreement signed with the Wey Clan, and obtains the Talisman legacy, he can depart.

His cultivation has advanced once more, and his spiritual strength will also improve. Whether in talisman making or alchemy, he can last longer.

”Hehe, the next step is to focus on earning spirit stones!”

Ji An relaxed, as buying the Tier Three Talisman legacy requires spirit stones, as does custom-making the Celestial Soaring Armor’s leg and face armor from Guu Tai. His tasks are indeed heavy.

Just as he began to entertain the thought of earning spirit stones, he noticed the environment around him changed again. The dark rock walls of the passageway glowed with a lustrous spirit light, as if transforming into a spirit stone vein.

’Is it really that crude?’

Ji An grumbled internally, as Yin Souls seized the opportunity to intensify the pressure, but their performance was clumsy, and the transition in style was too abrupt.

He couldn’t understand how such Yin Souls could deceive cultivators. Falling into their trap would be more than just foolish.

Just as he was about to cast a magic technique to shatter the illusion, an unusual thought suddenly appeared in his mind.

The Yin Souls could probably read his surface thoughts, prompting another shift in the dreamscape.

The bustling world of his previous life unfolded before him, with many faces he thought he had forgotten appearing once more.

’It’s a pity I can never return.’

Ji An bared his teeth. Yin Souls could transform scenes based on human desires; if applied to certain industries of his past life, it would be brilliant.

He no longer lingered in the past and activated the Wuji Xinghuang Banner. Spirit light bloomed, golden flowers rippled, and the illusion was shattered, with a delightful surprise aligning.

Two Yin Souls appeared just a few feet away from him; had he kept indulging in the illusion, they might have approached him.

The spiritual sand evolved from the spiritual artifact began flowing rapidly, gathering the two Yin Souls together. They attempted to phase and escape but failed.

Out of appreciation for helping recall the past, Ji An cast the Bursting Fireball, sending them into a fate of ashes flying away.

He calmly clapped his hands, ”With the most important task done, I can return to the defense array near the exit to focus on advancing my cultivation.”

The rush of rising tide resounded intermittently in the passage, reminding him of the swelling threat of the Nether River’s waters, making it impossible to predict future changes.

If he hadn’t mastered Earth-Born Gold, he’d have to continue scouring the Spirit Realm with gritted teeth, but now, of course, it’s back to relatively safe areas.

A wise person does not stand under a crumbling wall. The highest level of safety does not lie in possessing the strength to reverse adversity but in staying as far away from danger as possible.

With that thought, Ji An withdrew the Map Jade Slip, confirmed his current position, and plotted a course to fly toward the exit.

...

Two days later, Ji An returned to the exit, thoroughly searching to confirm that no changes had occurred.

He turned back with reassurance, traveling for half a double hour, arriving at the nearest defense array.

Operating within the exit’s spacious cave cannot prevent Yin Soul harassment, as cultivators in this secret land are like bleeding people in the ocean, while Yin Souls are exceedingly sensitive to blood like sharks.

Ji An took out the Golden-winged Bird and Flame Dragon Eagle, setting them outside the array.

Both are puppets without flesh and soul, so the Yin Souls show no interest, and there is no danger.

The Golden-winged Bird can act as a scout, and the Flame Dragon Eagle can release fire element technique attacks, aptly combating Yin Souls.

Ji An used the Silk Thread Spell to command the Golden-winged Bird, ’Patrol the passage within a hundred-foot range and report any anomalies immediately.’

The Golden-winged Bird playfully nodded its little head, its black eyes rolling a few times before flapping away.

Ji An connected with the Flame Dragon Eagle using the Silk Thread Spell, ”Stand by and be ready to attack at any time.”

Red light flickered in the Flame Dragon Eagle’s eyes as it vigilantly paced nearby, occasionally flying a few feet.

Pulling out two middle-grade spirit stones, Ji An activated the array there, feeling more reassured.

On his way back, he passed through a red-marked region on the map and found that about thirty percent of the defense arrays were destroyed, an extremely dangerous signal.

The only good news is that the closer it is to the exit area, the less the damage to defense arrays.

This means that most cultivators are in the depths of the secret land, drawing numerous Yin Souls to linger in those deep areas.

At the array’s perimeter, a yellow light shield flickered. When the brilliance reached its peak, the light shield vanished.

Ji An patted the Spirit Beast Bag, summoning out Golden Fur. In this narrow environment, only this beast tamed can squeeze in.

He threw out a Spirit Feeding Pill, habitually stroking the rat’s head, ”Stay alert.”

Once he began cultivating, his perception of the outside world diminished considerably. Golden Fur was his last line of warning.

Golden Fur swallowed the Spirit Feeding Pill in one gulp, ”Zi Zi.”

Despite being an Earth Element Demon Beast, the spiritual energy here is rich, but it dislikes the environment, sensing a sinister aura even through the magic array.

Ji An took out the Wind Furnace, brewing a pot of Jade Dew Golden Bud Tea to reward himself.

Three years from now, he’ll leave the Northern Land, with the Southern Continent as his next destination. How could he pass his own sect without entering? He must return to the sect once to gather resources.

At that time, Spirit Tea and Spirit Fruit will be plentiful, and he’ll be able to harvest a large batch of Soul Incense.

The tea trees might have seeded again; he wonders if Red Flame Peak contains more Spirit Wood elevated to Tier Two Upper Grade.

If so, the Gourd World will welcome new ’residents.’

Thinking of Red Flame Peak, Ji An’s heart floods with numerous fond memories.

After finishing the Spirit Tea, he sat cross-legged on the Pudun, beginning to cultivate using the Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture, drawing nearby spiritual qi like a giant magnet.

Gradually, a thin mist formed in the area, indicating a high concentration of spiritual qi.

Spiritual qi poured into his body through his mouth and nose, condensing black Water Element spirit light in the moist air, with yellow radiance emanating from the rocky walls and earth.

The Five Elements Reincarnation Scripture quickly operated, the Five Elements Divine Mansion shining with brilliance, cycling water, wood, fire, earth, gold, and back to water.

With more understanding of the Five Elements Mutual Generation Divine Intent, Ji An felt the speed of refining spiritual energy increase by nearly fifty percent compared to before any such comprehension.

Understanding Fire Generates Earth added ten percent to the refining speed, Gold Generating Water added fifteen percent, and now Earth-Born Gold boosted speed by twenty percent.

Extrapolating, once fully understanding the Five Elements Mutual Generation, the refining speed would inevitably at least double.

If events evolved as such, accumulating magical power would be the easiest task.

Not only did refining speed improve, but as his Immortal Vein was nourished, each cultivation session alternately refined it with the power of the Five Elements, enhancing its resilience to withstand prolonged surges of spiritual qi.

Perhaps after breaking through to Golden Core, his talent could rival cultivators of Celestial-Grade Talent.

Whenever he thought of this, Ji An felt great pride, remembering when he was merely a cultivator of Middle-Grade Talent.

The ten Dao Seeds in the Acupoints and Divine Mansion glimmer brightly, flashing light as each Divine Mansion illuminates.

The Dao Seeds emitted a mysterious aura, merging into the tidal spiritual qi, while inside the Dantian, a downpour of magical power rained, celebrating with Primordial Life Fire and the Stone Turtle.

...

A month passed.

Ji An was intoxicated, unable to extricate himself from the pleasure of cultivation growth, the effects of increased refining speed vividly apparent.

Perhaps due to the rapid speed increase, he began feeling bottlenecks in cultivation, but under surges of magical power, it was like a dyke being washed away by a flood.

During this time, the sound of rushing tidal waves echoed more frequently in the corridors, their duration lengthening.

Occasional lingering Yin Souls became disarrayed under the attacks from Flame Dragon Eagle.

To the Flame Dragon Eagle, Yin Soul’s attacks were entirely ineffective, slow ones would turn to ash, while quicker ones would barely cling to survival.

What delighted him most was the miraculous fortune of acquiring a Soul Stone.

This Soul Stone was only as large as a bean, its quality seemingly inferior to the previous one he’d obtained, but such unexpected gains are always welcome!

...

Wey Chengyuan sped forward aboard Earth Cloud, inadvertently breaching a Yin Soul gathering spot. As he saw hundreds of Yin Souls, his hair stood on end instantly.

It was his first life revelation of genuine horror. Upon his intrusion, Yin Souls launched an Illusion Realm. Without a Spirit Soul Defense Spiritual Artifact on hand, he’d have been ensnared, left a dried corpse.

Fortunately, he didn’t hesitate at that moment, unleashing half his trump cards to escape the Yin Soul gathering.

He knew this Secret Land was no longer habitable, as the irregular surge of Nether River water escalated the danger here considerably.

More crucially, he had no cards left to freely traverse this area.

As more Yin Souls appeared, finding a Spirit Realm to comprehend Earth-Born Gold’s divine intent in full was impossible.

Wey Chengyuan was extraordinarily furious, feeling a mere step away from comprehending Earth-Born Gold’s divine intent.

Missing this opportunity meant waiting twelve years for the Secret Land to reseal, how many twelve years does one have?

There’s an old saying, a slow step leads to many more; cultivation is a heaven-defying battle for fate, missed timings require lengthy remedies.

An Immortal Cultivator’s lifespan is long, yet no cultivator can afford waste.

Though frustrated, opportunity pales compared to life. Upon deciding to leave the Secret Land’s depths, Wey Chengyuan discovered that the density of Yin Souls had surprisingly reached an unprecedented level.

He began his escape journey, encountering several desiccated cultivator corpses, no inquiry needed, undoubtedly the work of Yin Souls.